Exactly as advertised, sophomore guard Kymora Johnson put up a freshman season for the ages last year. A former five-star recruit, she has the ability to elevate Virginia back to the glory days of the 1990s. Johnson earned Second Team All-ACC honors and a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team — plus she led Virginia in scoring, assists, steals and minutes played per game. Listing all of her extensive accolades would take an awfully long time, and it is clear that she is prepared to continue her impressive collegiate career by leading the 2024-25 team to new heights.
In her freshman campaign, the Cavaliers had a season full of promising highs and frustrating lows. Virginia earned a 16-16 record last year — which was certainly a promising improvement over the past few seasons — but several of those 16 losses were embarrassing blowouts.
On a positive note, the regular season finale was a win for the ages — an 80-75 triumph over then-No. 5 Virginia Tech. Coming off of that victory, it seemed as if Virginia had powerful momentum going into the ACC Tournament.
Instead, the Cavaliers flamed out in a frustrating upset loss to Wake Forest in the first round just three days later. Virginia went on to win a single game in the NIT, and then the season was over after a quiet defeat at Villanova.
For the sixth year in a row, the Cavaliers missed out on the chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. Still, winning half the games and showing significant signs of progress made the season a success as Coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton continues to build the foundations of a winning program — and Johnson is at the center of it.
In the 2024-25 season, Johnson and company are aiming for meteoric improvement this season. A few positives return — Johnson’s scoring talent is already the engine of Virginia’s offense with a team-best 15.3 points per game last year. That was her best trait as a recruit, and it is no surprise to see her knocking down three-point shots with ease. The more interesting topic is the rest of her game.
Distributing the ball is an essential part of the point guard role. After all, one player can only make so many shots — and Johnson has consciously worked towards improving as a facilitator.
“That was definitely something I worked on this summer,” Johnson said. “Trying to focus on passing and getting my handle right, things like that.”
Another hot topic is defense, which was a sore weak spot for the Cavaliers last year. Virginia gave up over 80 points seven times last season. That is not a recipe for victory. And while Johnson is a capable defender and not the primary culprit for sloppy team defense, she has concentrated considerable effort this offseason towards growing her defensive capabilities.
“Coming to college and being able to guard 94 feet, it’s hard,” Johnson said. “I struggled with that a little bit last year but I’m excited to see what I do this year.”
Then there is another element — while Johnson has always been a leader of the Virginia offense, she is now beginning to take charge in the locker room as well. Gone are program mainstays Sam Brunelle, London Clarkson, Alexia Smith and Camryn Taylor. Only junior guard Yonta Vaughn has been with the Cavaliers longer than Johnson. The young superstar is only a sophomore, but she is the unquestioned leader of this team right now.
Even though half of her teammates are new to the team, Johnson is confident that these promising additions will make a significant impact in Virginia’s quest to build a powerhouse program.
“I love them [the new additions], all of them,” Johnson said. “Freshmen, you know super seniors, it’s been great. We’ve had great chemistry and just [fans should] get excited to see some good basketball.”
Johnson and her Cavaliers will be back in action soon, beginning with the Blue-White scrimmage Oct. 5, followed by an exhibition game before the home opener against American Nov. 4. The full conference slate has not been released yet, but a handful of ranked ACC teams are sure to be on the docket for Virginia this year.
Even with a tough schedule, this team is certainly improving — and quickly. The women’s basketball program broke its single-game attendance record with 11,975 fans at the huge home win versus the Hokies last season. Johnson’s rise to stardom and the program’s concurrent improvement are leading to an exciting and rapid rise in fan engagement.
While she would humbly deny the honor, Johnson is easily the most talented star this program has had in some time. It is still early to tell how the Cavaliers will do this year, but with the season quickly approaching, expect Johnson to dominate. And in turn, Virginia just might surprise on the national level this season.
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